Two attorneys for the State Ethics Commission improperly used public resources to operate their private law practice, Inspector General Elizabeth Archer has found. Attorneys Yasha Heidari, who resigned in April, and Tom Plank used state-issued computers to research clients’ cases and abused sick leave, she said, and they created a potential conflict by representing a business operated by a man who offers his services as a lobbyist, a profession regulated by the ethics commission. UPDATE: The Ethics Commission said today it will implement the inspector general’s recommended remedies immediately and will “take appropriate action” after reviewing the findings regarding Plank.

The Georgia Supreme Court, for the second time in two months, has told the State Bar to get tougher with lawyers who break the rules. In a unanimous decision, the high court today rejected a reprimand for a lawyer who used falsified documents in a personal injury case. Justice David Nahmias, in a 17-page concurring opinion, picked apart Nerrylle Manning-Wallace’s account of her actions and the bar’s rationale for going along with a reprimand for her.